“He is a transient, and it is...

“He is a transient, and it is not unknown for people like Mr. Kamansky, in high-publicity crimes, to come forward and confess. We simply do not have anywhere near the quantity of evidence we need to try this case.”

--John F. Lynch of the district attorney’s office, announcing that prosecutors had freed Mark Kamansky, 42, who had confessed to setting the fire that destroyed the historic Pan Pacific Auditorium.